The subject matter herein relates generally to connector systems for pluggable electronic modules, such as transceiver modules, for high speed fiber optical and copper communications.
It is known to provide a metal cage with a plurality of ports, whereby transceiver modules are pluggable therein. Several pluggable module designs and standards have been introduced in which a pluggable module plugs into a receptacle which is electronically connected to a host circuit board. For example, a well-known type of transceiver developed by an industry consortium is known as a gigabit interface converter (GBIC) or serial optical converter (SOC) and provides an interface between a computer and a data communication network such as Ethernet or a fiber network. These standards offer a generally robust design which has been well received in industry.
It is desirable to increase the port density associated with the network connection, such as, for example, switch boxes, cabling patch panels, wiring closets, and computer I/O. Recently, a new standard has been promulgated and is referred to herein as the small form factor pluggable (SFP) standard which specifies an enclosure height of 9.8 mm and a width of 13.5 mm and a minimum of 20 electrical input/output connections. Another standard is referred to as the Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP) standard.
It is also desirable to increase the operating frequency of the network connection. For example, applications are quickly moving to the multi-gigabit realm. Electrical connector systems that are used at increased operating speeds present a number of design problems, particularly in applications in which data transmission rates are high, e.g., in the range above 10 Gbs (Gigabits/second). One concern with such systems is reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions. Another concern is reducing operating temperatures of the transceivers.
In conventional designs, thermal cooling is achieved by using a heat sink and/or airflow over the shielded metal cage surrounding the receptacles. However, the thermal cooling provided by conventional designs are proving to be inadequate, particularly for the transceivers in the lower row. Therefore, there is a need for a connector system design that conforms to the SFP standard or the QSFP standard or another standard, while providing adequate thermal cooling of transceivers.